no idea on how to make it work but assume that Ballard is gone and then the question is Roy better than Booth?

Positions can work themselves out later as a 2nd line with Roy/Kesler/??? looks pretty good and we will have a decent centre once Kesler gets hurt again .

Roy is not likely to be here next year, supposedly he wants a big raise. The only possible way to sign Roy would be if Luongo, Booth & Ballard are gone, and either Raymond or Higgins don't return here.Roy is really a 2nd line center, so we can't afford to have a 3rd line center earning north of 5 mil next year.

There will probably be quite a few guys available this year at fire-sale prices as the Cap goes down, so I could see MG looking for a solid 3rd line UFA center to sign in the $2.5 - $4 range

herb wrote:Speak of the devil, Schroder has been sent down. Hopefully Shredder rips it up in the AHL now. He has surpassed my expectations for him this season, but he is clearly not a playoff answer for this gorup.

WTF?You'd think that they'd keep him as 3rd line center until Kes is back, unless they exppect Kes on Thursday? Anyways, he'll certainly be back for the playoffs to gain experience

Zamboni Driver wrote:WTF?You'd think that they'd keep him as 3rd line center until Kes is back, unless they exppect Kes on Thursday? Anyways, he'll certainly be back for the playoffs to gain experience

I suspect Schroeder is down for good, barring any more freaking injuries.

Wolves play four games this week, while the Canucks only play two. Kesler is expected to be back within a week. The other factor is waiver eligility. Ebbett needs to clear waivers, and Schroeder does not. No sense in losing an asset (Ebbett) at this point for nothing, over a couple of games, at home, against opponents we should beat (Edmonton & Calgary). We lost a serviceable player in Volpatti to waivers only a few weeks ago.

I'm generally not a big fan of rentals but this one feels right. I don't mind the loss of KC or a second rounder in this case. The additions of Roy and Kesler completely change the complexion of this team. If they can just figure out the powerplay, they could be a difficult team to beat.

Schroeder fared better than I thought he would this season but he is still not good enough to be relied upon in the playoffs for anything other than a very limited roll.

Madcombinepilot wrote:I will be surprised if Schroeder isnt moved by mid July for other assets.. No room for a top 2 center on this team.. thats position is filled...

???Schroeder is not a bona fide top 2 center, and he'll need at least a couple years experience before he can.He should be playing on the 3rd line for a couple of years, just as Kesother top 6 forwards have done

If not him, then who is the future for the Canucks?It would seem that MG felt CoHo was expendable because Schroeder was a better defensive center, and we couldn't develop both at the same time.

We need to be developing two top 6 centers in the next couple of years, for the future when Sedin & Kes are slowing down, and probably more injury prone.

Topper wrote:Ebbett drops even further down the depth chart so he may be worth the risk of sending down.

True, and depending on what other, if any, trades are made between now and the deadline, Ebbett may be sent down depending on whether or not there is space on the roster.

Right now I count 22 on the active roster. I believe Kesler needs to be activated as well, so he would be 23. Nobody needs to be sent down unless we have a net addition of roster players come trade deadline. Even then, Sweatt, Jensen and Pinizzotto can be sent down before Ebbett.

So the Canucks had been trying to land Roy for a while. Dallas was just unsure if they were sellers, until now. This may explain why MG didn't go after the other centres who were put on waivers.He must have been pretty confident he would land him when the time came.